Wednesday, 14 January 2015

Blog interview with Claire King - who plays Erica Holroyd

Thank Goodness! Someone to
cheer Nick up will be shortly coming his way. Her name is Erica Holroyd and she
will turn Nick’s life around -except that she is only on our screens for an
introductory two weeks - but she will be back.

So who is she and where does she come from? Well, she is a friend of Liz’s and they met in Spain where Erica
runs a bar. When she was married, her husband was a bit too handy with his
fists but she has escaped him now. Liz and Erica looked out for each other in
Spain, and are close friends.

Erica is played by Claire
King, who some may recognize from Bad Girls and she also played Kim Tate in Emmerdale.

I was lucky enough to meet
Claire at Media City, and this is how she answered the interview questions…

What sort of a person is Erica?She’s
straight talking, notat allbitchy and has a great sense of
humour. She wants to live life to the full and that involves a whirlwind affair
with Nick Tilsley. Gail thinks Erica is loud and brash and clearly not good enough for her darling boy. When Gail asks Erica what she is giving Nick for
Christmas, Erica, with a twinkle in her eye, tells her that she already gave it
to him last night…

There aren’t many scenes
where I don’t have a drink in my hand, actually!

What does Erica wear?

Erica’s clothing is pretty
much like Claire’s, in that they both favour skinny jeans and leather jackets.

While on the subject of
appearance, Erica is tanned, as Claire herself had only just come back from
Spain so her tan must be topped up regularly. Claire’s long pink nails will
have to go for upkeep purposes.

How does Claire feel about being presented as a cougar?

Claire says she’s happy with
the cougar title and is hanging on to her youth like grim death. She is of
course the older woman but she is also good for him. She brings him out of
himself and out of his suits. He even wears jeans at times.

Apart from putting a spring in Nick’s step, why is she
here?

She has come to se her mother
who lives quite near. She is also here to sort out some family business. Her
mother is not very well but there is an added difficulty in that mother and
daughter do not get on. As yet, the reason why mother and daughter do not get on
is unknown, but it will come out eventually. Mum lives in Preston and Erica
had sent Liz a postcard to let her know she was on her way. Liz, though, did
not receive the card so Erica’s arrival comes as a surprise to her.

How was it working with Ben, who plays Nick?

Oh he’s been really welcoming,
as has Bev (Liz), so that is great. Every time Claire does a bed scene, she
says it’s, ‘Hi, I’m Claire, shall we get to it?’ But at least Ben and Claire
got to know each other a little because one of the camera men had a funeral to
go to which delayed the filming.

Will Nick and Erica actually be seen in bed with each
other? Was it an instant attraction?

No, viewers will see them on
the morning after or on their way to bed.

The two of them get talking
and he sees something in her that is unlike a clingy younger person; nor does
he think she’ll be trouble. She’s an older woman who knows her own mind. He
loves her attitude and quite simply, she makes him feel good, after all the
horrors he has been through, including the breakdown of his marriage and
Leanne’s ensuing and ongoing affair with Kal. But, Erica’s mother has a fall and so Erica is
forced to stay longer and as a consequence, Nick becomes anxious, wondering if
Erica wants more out of the affair.

As for Gail, Erica doesn’t
care what she says to her. Gail asks if he has had a Christmas present from her and she tells her, yes, she gave it to him last night - with atwinkle in her eye.

Was Claire looking for work in a soap?

Well she knew Stuart
(Blackburn – Corrie boss) when she was at Emmerdale and he also came to see her
in a play at The Lowry called Fetish Nights. So she put the idea of being in
Corrie into his head.

Who or what has made Claire what she is today?

Friends, family, music. She
was in a band called Zodiac and was a singer.She was influenced by Toyah and Debbie Harry. However after years of
smoking she no longer has a voice, but she has given up smoking – for three
months so far.

What does Claire want for Christmas?

Claire said that she would
like better health for her parents. She worries that they are inevitably getting older.

New Year’s Resolutions?

To continue not to smoke, to lose a bit of
weight and do more exercise.

IF YOU WATCH CORONATION STREET ON CBC CANADA, THIS IS THE BLOG FOR YOU! THIS BLOG FOLLOWS THE CANADIAN TIMELINE AND WILL MAINTAIN A RELATIVELY SPOILER-FREE ZONE. THERE MAY BE OCCASIONAL SPOILERS AND YOU WILL BE WARNED. COMMENTS THAT CONTAIN SPOILERS MAY BE REMOVED.

CBC Schedule for Corrie

CBC Christmas Schedule:

No Coronation Street on Dec. 25.TWO hours of Corrie on Dec. 26 from 7 p.m.One episode of Corrie per usual Dec. 27 - 29. NO Coronation Street on January 1DOUBLE Corrie from Jan. 2 - 5 with a four hour omnibus on Sunday, January 7.

**********************Corrie normally airs on CBC weeknights at 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Mondays and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to Friday (7:30 and 8:00 p.m. respectively, in Newfoundland) and the six episodes are repeated on Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. (8:30 p.m. Newfoundland) but check your local listings for the Sunday "omnibus".

Catchup Calendar for Canadian Corrie fans!

Good News! CBC is currently about one week and a bit behind the UK airdates. Please see this post